His Second Chance

Chapter Twenty

"You're the smuggler?!" I cried," You?!"

"No, no, I'm not," he replied, as I snatched my hands away from him," Well, not exactly. Look, it's just so complicated."

"Did you kidnap my cousin?" I asked, feeling tears of shock emerging from me eyes.

"Look, I can explain, let me explain!" he begged.

"Where is my cousin?!" I shouted.

"Amy, listen to me!" He grabbed my arms and shook me, as if he were trying to shake some sense into me. "I'll tell you everything, but you have to calm down!"

I stifled a sob, and pulled away from him, crossing my arms and waiting for him to explain.

I rubbed his eyes and asked," Do you not want to sit down?"

"Tell me everything, right now, or I'll go and find her myself," I snarled.

Julian sighed, and began his story. "I'm not the smuggler they're looking for. I work for them. It's true that I run an import-export business, but they thought they could exploit that."

"Who is 'they'?" I asked.

He paused for a moment, before answering," You remember, the show where we met? That girl who came up to you, who Chloe doesn't like?"

"Yeah, Alissa, what about her?" I asked.

"Its her," he replied," She organised all of this."

"But, why, and what do you have to do with anything?"

"She went out with Albie for several months a few years ago," he replied," She somehow got involved in the smuggling herself, and decided since we knew how to get things in and out of countries, she could use that. She blackmailed us into doing what she wanted. I didn't want anyone to get hurt, so I agreed."

He paused, as if expecting a question from me. I had lots, but I wanted him to finish his story.

"Um, anyway, she found out that horses were being stolen to order for a lot of money, so she came up with the idea of stealing horses in foreign countries and smuggling them in here," he said," We must have helped her smuggle in fifty horses."

"Why would you frame Louie?" I asked, my curiosity getting the better of me," I thought he was your friend."

"He is, and I never wanted to involve him in this," Julian replied," He just happened to be where we needed him to be. I tried to stop them, I really did, but Alissa is holding some heavy shit over our heads. I was able to find his bank details to make it seem legit, it was all me."

"Like what?"

"I'd rather you not know," he said.

"But why Chloe? Where is she?"

"That Inspector that she's seeing, he came too close to finding out what was happening," came the reply," Alissa had someone pick him up, but he had already told Chloe what happened. Albie picked her up in the car park at the show."

"Where are they?" I snarled.

When he paused, I repeated the question with such anger and force that he was compelled to answer me.

"That cove, where you found the horse, Alissa is having them all shipped across to Spain," he replied," I don't know what will happen to then after that, but we can't let the ship leave."

"We?"

"I'm not going to let that happen," he said," She's your cousin, and I would never do anything to hurt you."